Tuesday, 12 June 2012

Rupert Murdoch and The setting Sun

I am not the news. I'm just someone who writes about things that interest me, topical or not. My opinions will differ widely from others. For all I know there may occasionally be inaccuracies with my writing or readers may disagree with my understanding over subject matter or even perhaps, a statement I've discussed is wrong, based on my research. However, know this. These blogs are the truth.They are my truth. They are not a distortion or a manipulation or a lie. It is the world as I see it and how I want to share it back to the world.

The Sun however, is a manipulating, sleazy rag that creates a false reality, lies to its readers, mocks mental illness, discriminates, is prejudice towards afflictions, culture and race and can even get people murdered. Rupert Murdoch advocates cultural wars based on his own prejudices and drives popular opinion forward through his rags and the Fox Network TV that also promote ethnic and illegal wars.

Rupert Murdoch created the perfect tool for manipulating the working class in 1969 when he copied The Mirror's success with a tabloid. A cheap, women's gossip magazine, with tits and sport, in the form of a paper.'The Sun' changed British Journalism broadsheets by creating a cheap sensationalist newspaper drawing on intrusive exclusives as must reads. Murdoch, who fled Australia, initially bought the English paper 'The News of the World' and later turned it into a soft porn celebrity scooping rag, before screwing it up and closing it down in shame over the scandal of phone tapping.

Ok, Ok. I know. It's a tabloid. This is what they do and if people didn't want it they wouldn't buy it. Tabloid newspapers reflect their audience and copy each others editorials. Culturally and historically they have been run by white, middle-class males who unconsciously and otherwise spew out their own narrow views on other's cultures in mind games to gain popular support by the uneducated. That's fair. Many broadsheets are too intellectual, even pretentious and dull. And to be fair The Sun copied The Mirror (The Mirror originally owned The Sun in 1963 as The Herald) who in turn began copying The Sun when it became more popular in the 1970's. The Mirror pretty much became The Sun when Piers Morgan was editor (Unsurprising considering that's where he came from). Also I want to make it clear. As a teenager and young adult I bought The Sun regularly from 1985 to 1989. I was part of the culture and enjoyed the quick fix news items. My parents bought The Sun too. It was a working class ritual which I didn't question.

My personal distain for The Sun began with the cruel attacks on, the then England Football Manager, Bobby Robson. The onslaught, which began around 1986 was disgusting and was a true test of Bobby's resilience and the strength of the F.A. that he didn't go, one way or another. They were even giving away 'Sack Bobby badges'. The paper was still at it during the World Cup in 1990. Continually trying to undermine him and sway public opinion. Now they laud him as a hero for a hugely successful career. However, the abuse Bobby got paled into significance when I recall how they got away with the scandalous attacks on Graham Taylor. They superimposed a swede to his head when England lost to Sweden and continually referred to him as Turnip Taylor. The most childish bullying reporting that was allowed under freedom of speech. I'd already stopped buying it way before that though.

Not to exaggerate my dismissal and with fear of being deemed a hypocrite I have occasionally flicked through the rag over the years, as you would any 'tacky' magazine when you're bored. However, the day I stopped buying The Sun regularly, was the day after Hillsborough. I'm not a scouser, but I totally understand their contempt and hatred of The Sun for the negative reporting of supporters' conduct by Kelvin Mackenzie during the Hillsborough disaster that cost 96 lives. The readership in Liverpool dropped from around 55,000 to 8000 and nationally by 200,000 following 'The Truth' headline and report. What The Sun did was give out a perception that tainted, not only all the Liverpool supporters who were there but, football fans in general.

However, this wasn't the reason I stopped buying it. I hadn't even seen that report until years later which actually could only reinforced my decision. I stopped buying it because I was opposed to the full front page image of fans crushed up against a fence. I was only 22 at the time and I remember it actually reduced me to tears. I didn't cry because of the image per se. Yes I was absolutely disgusted that The Sun decided to display the distorted faces of these poor people so brazenly, but without any compassion for those families viewing their loved ones? For me the violation of stripping away human decency, the disregard of their dignity and the contempt for humanity was so strong that I could not imagine the pain of being any one of those parents. My pain was merely imaginative over seeing my child in such pain and on public display. That was too much to consider. I didn't know who Rupert Murdoch was back then, but what a cold heartless bastard he must be to have allowed that picture to go out. I still don't know to this day if any of those people had died and I'm afraid I don't want to, but I do know it had a profound effect on me that the thought still makes me shiver.

Over the years as I have grown up I have scrutinized the media more and more and have realised, how incredibly manipulative and biased journalists are for their editors. Many sources, such as Rupert Murdoch's rags and TV news networks serve major banks and huge corporations and therefore control how you receive your news. They gain OUR collective support for illegal and disgraceful wars to assist OUR government officials and spin out a belief that the wars are necessary and justly. The politicians against wars, of course are ignored, lied about or made fun of as they are a danger to the 'status quo'. My blind hope would be that The Leverson Inquiry, could really make a difference to unbind politics and the media in the UK. If the Libertarians get past the voting 'fraud' machines in the US they might be able to get someone with integrity in office to do something about their propaganda. Who knows...? To be honest I doubt either will happen and I doubt the majority of either country even cares.

The Sun has been dumbing down news and people's imagination in preference of titillation, for 40+ years and manipulating minds in order to get 'their' guy in office. They rely on your lack of knowledge or lack of interest in politics to vote for who they tell you is 'popular' and who is 'bad'. This they manage to do by reporting comparatively little about issues and more about personalities and private information. They gain your support in the voting booth by continually portraying themselves with patriotic themes and endless national symbolism. Considering (the Australian) Rupert Murdoch carries out the same strategy to sell his businesses in America his 'patriotism' is truly repugnant to me. The Sun gives its readers rhythmical and whimsical headlines along with an unhealthy fixation on celebrity mischief as if it's important information. It passes itself off as 'one of the lads' and then fabricates stories about more serious issues to gain popular support to push for controversial policies that can only suppress personal freedoms.

During the Leverson Inquiry and through his testimony over the phone tapping scandal along with payments to police, he has tried to convince us all he knew nothing about these practices. Even The Sun readers are not this gullible, however unless there is proof there is no conviction. Shame! If only for the unethical practices and harm his papers and television companies have had on individual lives over the years AND because of the wars he has promoted and pursued, it would have been justice to see him incarcerated. I will be very happy when the general public finally advances from this rag to the far superior, free independent news on the internet. Considering the circulation has dropped from 7.6 million to 2.6 million in 18 months this may be a reality sooner rather than later. I am glad Murdoch speaks of this actuality with glum resignation.

If you do buy The Sun look closely. Aside from the patriotic push to convince you it's your mate, how much real topical news is there in it and how biased is the reporting? How many half page/ full page ads are there. How many items can you get from 'women magazines' and actually are there stories that have been pulled from other publications? Are some of the articles even about what happened yesterday? What are they promoting today? Someone's book or tokens to some deal? Seriously, ask yourself what do you buy it for?

And then stop!

To complain to the press complaints commission you need to go to the website http://www.pcc.org.uk/ Once there you will see a green box with the heading 'making a complaint' - move your cursor over this box and you will see 4 options appear - choose 'Complaint Form' and click on it. A form will appear. You need to fill out the date - your name - your address - your email and state which newspaper you are complaining over, the publication date and the headline. Make sure you fill out all the correct fields or the complaint will not be recognised. You can open up another window in internet explorer as it will save you struggling to fill the form in. And begin - "We're complaining about the Sun - or SCUM as we call it here..."

CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform

http://clear-uk.org/Legalise cannabis Responsible department: Home Office A desire for the House of Commons to give a comprehensive debate regarding the merits of legalising cannabis. A need for Parliament to discuss the consequences of legalisation on health, the police force, the economy and our civil liberties. An aim to classify cannabis in line with drugs such as alcohol and tobacco.